Saturday night features a battle of top-25 teams as the No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-3) take on the No. 5 USC Trojans (10-1). The Trojans will host this one at the United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.
Last week, Notre Dame absolutely decimated Boston College, 44-0. In the win, Drew Pyne threw for 156 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Logan Diggs, Audric Estime, and Chris Tyree combined for 243 yards and four touchdowns.
USC had a bit of a tougher time last weekend as they fought off No. 17 UCLA 48-45. In the win, Caleb Williams threw for 470 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He also rushed for 33 yards and a score. Austin Jones also had success, rushing for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
USC comes in as the favorites in this one playing at home. They are -205 to win, while the Fighting Irish’s moneyline sits at +168. The spread features Notre Dame +5.5 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 64.5.
Notre Dame Looks For Continued Dominance In Rivalry Game
Playing for the prestigious Jeweled Shillelagh, the rivalry between Notre Dame and USC has existed for almost a century. Notre Dame has won the last four matchups and will look for a fifth on Saturday.
Leading the offense for Notre Dame is sophomore quarterback Drew Pyne. This season, he has thrown for 1,703 yards, 19 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. He has also rushed for 119 yards and another two scores.
The biggest contributors in the ground game are sophomores Audric Estime and Logan Diggs. Estime has 782 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns, while Diggs has 698 yards and two scores.
Through the air, Michael Mayer has been Pyne’s favorite target. The tight end has 59 receptions for 711 yards and seven scores.
On the defensive side, the Fighting Irish rank 18th in the nation, allowing 20.3 points per game (25.8 on the road).
USC Led By Heisman Trophy Favorite
There is a reason that USC has the third-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 42.9 points per game. Under center, they have the leading Heisman Trophy candidate (-130) in quarterback Caleb Williams.
The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 3,480 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just three interceptions this season. He also has rushed 88 times for 316 yards and another seven scores.
Williams’ favorite targets to this point have been wide receivers Jordan Addison (765 yards, eight touchdowns), Tahj Washington (549 yards, four touchdowns), and Mario Williams (508 yards, four touchdowns).
On the ground, senior running back Travis Dye leads the way with 884 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
Defensively, the Trojans rank 52nd in the nation, allowing an average of 26.3 points per game (20.3 at home).
Take Trojans To Win And Cover
Looking at the trends, Notre Dame is 13-6 in their last 19 against the spread, and they are 6-0 against the spread in their last six. Against USC, though, they are just 2-7 against the spread in their last nine road games.
For the Trojans, they are undefeated in their last six home games, and they are 10-1 in their last 11 overall. Against the spread, they are 4-2 in their last six.
Overall, this one could come down to the quarterback play. Drew Pyne has really struggled to find consistency and has been bailed out a few times by the ground game and the defense.
For USC, they are getting phenomenal play from the Heisman Trophy favorite Caleb Williams, and that should continue on Saturday.
Take USC to both win and cover the -5.5 point spread (-110).
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